“Not one NHL team has called,” Waddell said. “I think I made it clear at the draft—Marian Hossa isn’t going anywhere. If Marian Hossa is going someplace, Don Waddell better be going with him.”
Hossa is a free agent after this season but Waddell remains optimistic that a contract extension can get done before the season starts.
“Would I like to get him signed before the start of the year? Yes. Is it desperate if we don’t? Absolutely not,” Waddell said.

With the additions of Daniel Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul, the Flyers have changed the entire face of their roster and their fans have noticed.
“We’re experiencing our best new season ticket sales since the lockout ended,” Flyers vice president of marketing and communications Shawn Tilger said on Wednesday. “The pulse is the strongest I’ve seen since we signed Peter Forsberg after the (2004) lockout.”

read on and the Flyers are actually getting very creative with their season ticket holders. I wonder if other teams are taking notice?

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk got a surprise when he opened the newspaper Wednesday morning and read about the pending sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The team is one of his favourite organizations in the NHL and he wasn’t expecting an ownership change.

Melnyk says he’s not sure why some owners are deciding to get out of the hockey business.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “It’s very interesting. I think what’s happening is that people have gone through seven, eight, nine, 10 years of ownership. I don’t know whether age is a factor or whether they’ve moved or what personal issues they have and why they’re selling. Maybe it’s for the money. A lot of these teams were worth half of what they’re selling for four years ago. Some people might simply be cashing in.”

The Atlanta Thrashers have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent defenseman Karel Pilar and forward Milan Bartovic, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Don Waddell. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

NESN announced today that Milbury, the former Islanders executive, will serve as a studio analyst this season. Milbury will be part of NESN’s pre-game, intermission, and post-game analysis.
“I’m very happy to be joining the NESN team,” Milbury said in a statement. “This opportunity is giving me a chance to be connected once again with the organization that I cheered for growing up and broke into the league with both as a player and a coach.”

Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal and his brother Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins have been offered plea deals stemming from their arrests at Eric Staal’s bachelor party in Minnesota last month.
Paul Krepelka, the agent who represents both players, said the prosecutor in Cook County, Minn., offered to settle the case by having the Staals plead guilty to a petty misdemeanour for disorderly conduct. Charges of obstructing the legal process are to be dropped against both players, Krepelka said.
Ten of the 14 young men charged after complaints of screaming, yelling and loud music appeared in court and accepted the same deal Wednesday, Krepelka said.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Mike Weaver to a one-year, two-way contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.
Weaver, 29, spent the 2006-07 season with the Los Angeles Kings scoring nine points (three goals, six assists) in 39 games played. He scored his first NHL goal on February 6th vs. Tampa Bay. Weaver also spent the 2005-06 season with Los Angeles recording nine points (nine assists) in 53 games. Previously, he played parts of three seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers registering a total of six points (six assists) in 57 games.

In his introductory news conference as Bolts co-owner, MacLean did not disappoint those who’ve become accustomed to his endless array of excuses why his teams have shown a remarkable ability to reek like dirty diapers year after year.
“I had the 28th (lowest) payroll in the league last year in Columbus,” MacLean said. “I didn’t like it.”
However, as intrepid Columbus Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline points out, the Blue Jackets actually had the 24th-lowest payroll in the league in 2006-07, were just $4 million under the salary cap, and three of the six teams that spent less qualified for the playoffs.

read on... and if you want to see the video of the “monkey” story Adam referrers to…

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